Under coach Pat Riley, the Heat has never been about finesse. Miami has been more bruising than beautiful in recent seasons -- until now.

The Heat, which won its fifth game of the season at Houston on Saturday night, has historically pounded opponents in the paint. But this season, with a weakened Alonzo Mourning, an underachieving Brian Grant and the loss of forward Anthony Mason, the Heat's inside presence -- or lack thereof -- has left much to be desired.

In many cases, the ball isn't even getting down low, particularly to Mourning, whose touches and shot attempts have dropped dramatically. With the outside shot not falling with any consistency, and with players not known for their skills off the dribble, defenses are concentrating their efforts in the paint.

``Teams are making a more concerted effort to not let us touch the ball,'' said Mourning, who in his past three games has averaged just more than six shot attempts.

``Somewhere down the line, we have to make some adjustments.''

Defenses continue to front Mourning and Grant -- or whoever is playing in the paint at a given time -- denying entry passes that would normally feed those players. Because the Heat has been unsuccessful in going down low, the result has been an increase in rushed shots from the perimeter.

Because the Heat cannot establish much down low, its entire offense is sometimes out of sync.